It\’s time to say \”When.\”

Another Executive Order – August 1, 2007

He’s changed the country to Lebanon and declared a national emergency.

Take a look:

Executive Order: Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon or Its Democratic Processes and Institutions

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, determine that the actions of certain persons to undermine Lebanon’s legitimate and democratically elected government or democratic institutions, to contribute to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through politically motivated violence and intimidation, to reassert Syrian control or contribute to Syrian interference in Lebanon, or to infringe upon or undermine Lebanese sovereignty contribute to political and economic instability in that country and the region and constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.

I hereby order:

Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any overseas branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:

(i) any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(A) to have taken, or to pose a significant risk of taking, actions, including acts of violence, that have the purpose or effect of undermining Lebanon’s democratic processes or institutions, contributing to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon, supporting the reassertion of Syrian control or otherwise contributing to Syrian interference in Lebanon, or infringing upon or undermining Lebanese sovereignty;

(B) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, such actions, including acts of violence, or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(C) to be a spouse or dependent child of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(D) to be owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

(b) I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) The prohibitions in paragraph (a) of this section include but are not limited to (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order, and (ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Sec. 3. For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term “person” means an individual or entity;

(b) the term “entity” means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and

(c) the term “United States person” means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.

Sec. 4. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that, because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that, for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

Sec. 5. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government, consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken. The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure compliance with those provisions of section 401 of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641) applicable to the Department of the Treasury in relation to this order.

Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to submit the recurring and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency declared in this order, consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).

Sec. 7. This order is not intended to create, nor does it create, any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
August 1, 2007.

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“Unless Congress immediately impeaches Bush and Cheney, a year from now the US could be a dictatorial police state at war with Iran. When Bush exercises this authority [under the new Executive Order] … there’s no check to it. It doesn’t have to be ratified by Congress. The people who bear the brunt of these dictatorial police state actions have no recourse to the judiciary. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule. … The American people don’t really understand the danger that they face.”

Bush issued an Executive Order “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq”. It has passed relatively quietly under the radar, but may be the biggest assault on our civil liberties and the constitution to date. If this doesn’t frighten and mobilize people to immediate action, then the responsibility lies with us and we deserve the consequences.

This presidential executive order is unique in that it criminalizes free speech and expression of thought for anyone who “in their opinion threatens the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq”, or who “undermines efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq”. How many times have we heard the Bush administration accuse Democrats of threatening the stability in Iraq in response to public speeches and written editorials? It’s almost a daily occurrence. (Don’t you have to have stability to threaten it? Ooops sorry, didn’t mean to interject any logic here)

Particular clauses in the executive order are not directed at people who support violent acts, they clearly are meant to suppress free speech and the expression of ideas on Iraq that are not aligned with theirs.

This executive order is particularly dangerous since the determination of a violation won’t be made by an impartial jury, but by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense. Translation, anyone on the right with connections to the Bush administration who wants to punish someone for their political views can have that person’s property seized. It’s also worth noting that the property seizures can be done with “no advance notice” whatsoever.

As his days in office dwindle, Bush is acting more and more like a wounded animal painted into a corner, but with his fangs intact. I fully expect to see more of these egregious attacks on our constitutional rights and the comfortably numb American people better hit the panic button now before it’s too late.
John Ehrenfeld

Friday night the Democratic controlled Senate, voted 60-28 to give Bush the additional authority he requested to eavesdrop on “suspected” foreign terrorists with no court warrant. You have got to be kidding! Once again we are trusting the Bush cabal to make fair and ethical judgments with no oversight by an impartial judiciary? Well we aren’t kool-aid drinkers, who won’t criticize our own when warranted and what happened Friday night in the Senate should make us all ill.

Initially the Democrats had stood firm in holding out for stricter legal oversight, but in the end, they lay down like a daisy in a hurricane. The White House was quick to praise the Senate vote updating the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, (FISA).

And guess what magnanimous concession on the White House’s part gave the Democrats that warm and fuzzy comfort level to betray the wishes of their constituents? Ready? All wiretaps need approval by Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and your favorite liar and torture enabler Attorney General Alberto Gonzales! A bad dream? No, just your Democrat controlled Senate in action.

At least a few Senators kept their integrity intact. The always dependable and consistent Sen. Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin angrily scolded his fellow Senators for capitulating to the Bush administration.

“The day we start deferring to someone who’s not a member of this body is a sad day for the U.S. Senate,” Feingold said. “We make the policy, not the executive branch.”

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia also severely criticized the bill.

“It provides a weak and practically nonexistent court review.”

Caroline Fredrickson, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union also went on the record expressing her outrage that the Democratic-led Senate would side with the White House.

“We’re hugely disappointed with the Democrats. The idea they let themselves be manipulated into accepting the White House proposal, certainly taking a great deal of it, when they’re in control well it’s mind-boggling.”

“Patriotism, in my view, does not mean unquestioning acceptance of whatever the government does. To go along with whatever your government does is not a characteristic of democracy. I remember in my own early education we were taught that it was a sign of a totalitarian state, of a dictatorship, when people did not question what their government did. If you live in a democratic state, it means you have the right to criticize your government’s policies.”

Howard Zinn – “A Young People’s History of the United States” – vol. 1

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